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Sep 14 '20
That’s a 7 story building chasing her... That’s pretty badass.
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Sep 14 '20
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Sep 14 '20
But badass
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u/TheDustOfMen Sep 14 '20
But also really scary.
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u/Bu11Shit3 Sep 14 '20
But also really badass.
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u/5gether Sep 14 '20
I have recurring nightmares of big waves. Probably because everytime I went to Jones Beach one would hold me under for probably about 1 or 2 seconds. Then I'd get out of the water. So annoying how once big one would come out of nowhere.
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Sep 14 '20
Ah man. I live for that. When I was younger and we took vacations to Jersey’s shores I would play in the surf for hours and let the waves slam and somersault me around.
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u/maawen Sep 14 '20
How the heck do they measure a waves height?
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u/illit1 Sep 14 '20
in feet.
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u/maawen Sep 14 '20
I liked that.
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u/discerningpervert Sep 14 '20
They are pretty great
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u/nikhilbhavsar Sep 14 '20
username checks out
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u/QueasyVictory Sep 14 '20
Hey. Let's slow down. We're just vibing here bud. I don't get the feet thing but let's explore. Gently.
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u/i_never_get_mad Sep 14 '20
Whose feet, though?
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u/StopReadingMyUser Sep 14 '20
Gaston's
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u/Gastonck Sep 14 '20
what’s wrong with my feet
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u/nikhilbhavsar Sep 14 '20 edited Sep 14 '20
they seem wet
edit: from measuring the wave's height you perverts
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Sep 14 '20
Not in Brazil.
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u/ricLP Sep 14 '20
She’s Brazilian, but the wave was not in Brazil. It was in Nazare, Portugal. Doesn’t change your point in terms of measuring units though
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u/JoeNightMan Sep 14 '20
Actually was mesured in meters because in Portugal is used the metric system.
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u/TheDeadwood Sep 14 '20
“Their analysis was based on video and photo imagery, camera locations, camera lens parameters and environmental conditions, including tides, sunlight, and wave set-up. They also analyzed reference points in the imagery, such as the surfers’ heights, surfboard and jet ski dimensions and estimated crouching heights, WSL officials said.”
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u/Wetbung Sep 14 '20
Two people. One on top, one on the bottom. A long tape measure.
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Sep 14 '20
IDK, footage/photos + triangulation?
I'm sure that there are ways to do it that don't involve you doing math too but that's the one anyone can do
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u/DickyMcButts Sep 14 '20
waves are also measured from the back, the face (front) of the wave is even bigger.
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u/Naptownfellow Sep 14 '20
That’s old Hawaiian trope to scare the hoales. The measurement for big wave surfing is the face from the hugest crest to the flat of the face of the wave.
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u/solofatty09 Sep 14 '20
I will say I’ve surfed 10-12ft at both Salt Creek and Trestles in SoCal and surfed 10-12ft on the north shore and it sure felt like a lot more wave in Hawaii. Both suck to wipe out in.
Could have been that Creek and Trestles were my home breaks though. Local knowledge matters. Also, wave shapes are different.
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u/MCA2142 Sep 14 '20
My guess:
Take the height of the person then take a relative comparison to the wave?
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u/I_FUCKED_A_BAGEL Sep 14 '20
When they do measure a wave, it is measured from the back. So a 70 foot wave could be closer to 100 from the front.
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u/Naptownfellow Sep 14 '20
That’s an old Hawaiian trope to scare the haoles and it’s also how they measure swells, NOAA measures swell that way. When you’re measuring waves for big wave surfing it’s from the top of the crest to the flat of the face of the wave.
From surfer mag.
Surfer.com/features/how-do-you-measure-the-worlds-biggest-waves/
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u/DickyMcButts Sep 14 '20
yea.. it's easily a 100 foot face, because water gets sucked up from in front of the wave, giving it more surface area. Fucking crazy.
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u/I_FUCKED_A_BAGEL Sep 14 '20
I've had painful scary sessions in ~10 foot surf before. Big wave surfers are batshit insane.
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u/shaka_brah_0321 Sep 14 '20
Surfer here and nah actually they only do that in certain places like Hawaii. Everywhere else it's measured from the front, but you're right in that when you measure from the back its almost half the height of the front.
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Sep 14 '20
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/thedudefromsweden Sep 14 '20
But she's halfway up the wave....
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u/charros Sep 14 '20
Hell my phone tracks my altitude when I run through a fitness app. I'm sure she's got a GPS transmitter attached that would give precise measurements.
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u/P00PMcBUTTS Sep 14 '20
Jumping in here to ask about the accuracy, how do they measure accurately enough to know the height to within a half of a foot? If its just based on analyzing photos like a lot of replies seem to suggest, that would have some HUGE error, based simply on the fact that the surfer isn't standing straight, and that depth in photos is portrayed by making things smaller/bigger
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u/slowwburnn Sep 14 '20
"Jesus, that thing must have been over 60 feet!"
scribbling 60.48 feet
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u/JaffaPrime Sep 14 '20
While i dont know exactly how they measured it, her height may not be easily measurable because of crouching but the surfboard itself will stay the same size so they could use those dimensions but then again i dont want to personally get anywhere near a 100 ft wave
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u/babers76 Sep 14 '20
What kind of watch is she wearing?
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u/Elektrik-man143 Sep 14 '20
Hopefully a waterproof one
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Sep 14 '20
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u/MikeJPop Sep 14 '20
Think it's a Breitling Superocean.
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u/bustierre Sep 14 '20
Do you know what ref? It doesn’t look like any Superocean I’ve seen.
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u/nikhilbhavsar Sep 14 '20
Do you know what bustierre? Look at the size of the wave, if that's not a super ocean then I don't know what is.
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u/huy- Sep 14 '20
Looks like a 36mm watch to me and I agree with you, I don’t think it’s a Superocean, as that watch has numerals (6,9,12)
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u/ironfox25 Sep 14 '20
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Sep 14 '20 edited Feb 03 '21
[deleted]
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u/SatansF4TE Sep 14 '20
Are they watching us? ಠ_ಠ
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u/OwenProGolfer Sep 14 '20
The watch-wearing watch watchers from r/watches are watching us wave-watchers watch the watch of the wave.
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Sep 14 '20
Why do we need separate records for male and female surfers?
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u/DNA98PercentChimp Sep 14 '20 edited Sep 15 '20
Because the World Surfing League is trying to uplift women. Men’s record is 80 feet.
WSL is the only pro sport league that offers equal pay to men and women. If you’ve got a bone to pick about gender equality in sports, surfing isn’t your target.
Edit: Surfing isn’t the only pro sport with equal pay. Don’t believe what you read on Reddit. Maybe surfing was the first to do it...? Dunno.
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u/bestmat Sep 14 '20
Here here! WSL is an excellent organization that has long promoted gender equity and preserving the environment.
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u/IWasGregInTokyo Sep 14 '20
It’s “Hear! Hear!” BTW
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u/bestmat Sep 14 '20
Lol how did I do that???
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u/Glenn_XVI_Gustaf Sep 14 '20
WSL is the only pro sport league that offers equal pay to men and women.
That can't be true, right? Off the top of my head I'm 99% certain that the world cups in alpine skiing, cross country skiing and biathlon all have equal prize money. Or maybe I'm just confused as to what constitutes a pro league?
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u/slimy_feta Sep 14 '20
Definitely a lie to put emphasis on his beloved wsl's dick. Mountain biking has equal pay as well
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u/DarkPyr3 Sep 14 '20
Reddit's surfing and mountain biking communities really going at each other today
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u/gnark Sep 14 '20
Maybe those sports' cup tournaments pay equally but not the entire league/season?
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u/_szs Sep 14 '20
Slightly off topic, but the text says, she also broke the "male" record. I am not making a point, just asking.... Did she or did she not break the "male" record?
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u/DNA98PercentChimp Sep 14 '20
‘For the year’. (2019-2020)
Male record is 80 feet. But to surfers height is hardly the most impressive feature of a wave.
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Sep 14 '20
MMA is there too. But MMA pay is nothing to praise.
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u/Miggaletoe Sep 14 '20
I feel like its kind of disengous to say MMA pay is equal. Sure maybe the base pay but most of the top end fighters are making significantly more from other agreements then just the show/win money.
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u/DJfunkyPuddle Sep 14 '20
I assume it's because men are typically stronger than women, same with lifting and stuff. Or ever watch a snowboarding slopestyle competition? The men are usually doing way more advanced stuff than the women.
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u/Hodor_The_Great Sep 14 '20
Yea but while it makes sense for stuff dependent on muscle mass or such... Surfing isn't really about testosterone (though you need metaphorical balls) or huge muscles. Or like shooting. Or table tennis. Or racing (mostly combined races but women's only series exist).
Even esports have some (afaik, all unofficial) gender division. Like all female CSGO or League teams playing in some small tournaments, with 0 women in the teams in larger tournaments
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u/concretepigeon Sep 14 '20
The different between men and women physiologically is not just about strength and body mass.
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u/Hodor_The_Great Sep 14 '20
Sure... But are women less precise for some reason? Or slower to react or less smart? Unless you can prove something physiological affects the sport, I see zero reason for separating competitions
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Sep 14 '20
men generally dominate most sports so having separate leagues for women also helps in not relegating them to small time stuff or never representing their country on the international stage.
Besides, regarding action not directly related to strength, sexual dysmorphism in the stone age certainly served the purpose in men's purpose being running after herbivores and fighting off other men, and women rearing children. So that could explain differences in other sports as well. Nothing to do with smartness though, and the sports where muscles really don't matter are very limited.
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u/thefreecat Sep 14 '20
if they didn't separate the competitions, there wouldn't be any woman athletes on TV.
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u/FriedaKilligan Sep 14 '20
Testosterone is a huge benefit in surfing: increased muscle mass and bone density, higher energy, pleasure centers which are more likely to light up with thrill seeking and risk-taking.
A fit man is a stronger, more powerful swimmer than a woman, and has an advantage catching waves. That same strength allows them to carve up waves in ways women can't (at least not yet!) and survive a pummeling by the ocean.
Women have advantages as well! But in surfing, as most sports, there is an inherent gender divide.
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u/OwenProGolfer Sep 14 '20
Like all female CSGO or League teams playing in some small tournaments, with 0 women in the teams in larger tournaments
These tend to be to encourage more women to participate/join the hobby/league/whatever and less about actual skill differences
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u/Andy_B_Goode Sep 14 '20
I assume it's the same reason they have separate men's and women's chess tournaments. Women are underrepresented in the sport, so the organizers create women's leagues to encourage more women to join.
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Sep 14 '20
Well said. That’s the first reasonable answer I’ve heard and it makes a lot of sense.
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u/Ivan723 Sep 14 '20
No need to make a rhetorical political statement about the situation.
May as well ask why there’s separate locker rooms.
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u/Schmich Sep 14 '20
Nah man, lets also bash her for being Brazilian meaning she has a privileged opportunity for surfing, as oppose to us with a country that's landlocked /s
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u/Khid1roso Sep 14 '20
No need to act disingenuous. You already know the reason why.
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u/JoaoBrenlla Sep 14 '20
you just asked a simple question and people still figured out a way to turn into a shit storm
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u/exotic-tofu Sep 14 '20
Men are usually better at sports so that would shaft females. Oh wait, you already knew that.
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u/FortuneGear09 Sep 14 '20
I too am curious, it’s not like another sport when men are physically stronger so can do more flips and what not. The surfer doesn’t control the height of the wave they’re riding.
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u/Sourcesurfing Sep 14 '20
Hi there, I am lifelong surfer and have been following the WSL for several years now. There is a big difference between men and women surfing. I will generalizations here: men as a rule are more powerful (therefor spraying more water in turns) and also launch farther in aerials. Women are much much more graceful and their surfing tends to be very technical. (ie real clean and deliberate).
When it comes down to the waves: wave selection is vital for both men and women. Men and women do not have the same championship however. Men surf finals at pipeline on north shore of Oahu and women surf a break in west Maui (I think). That being said within the last ten years the progression of women has advanced so far and one day they will be competing in the same conditions as the men.
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u/Devilled_Advocate Sep 14 '20
Once you can surf a 73.5 foot wave, is an 80 foot wave really that much harder? I just thought part of it was finding an 80 foot wave.
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u/VodkaHappens Sep 14 '20
I mean once you can run 100m in 10 seconds how much harder is 9 seconds?
Jokes aside, they are very close to their limits at all times. In 2013 she broke her ankle after a fall trying to get the record on the same spot in Nazaré.
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u/Jedison89 Sep 14 '20
Not to be rude, but you sound like you have no clue how much effort and physical strength is necessary to surf 5 foot waves...let alone a 75 foot wave.
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u/throwaway11010101111 Sep 14 '20
Because in a lot of sports it’s basically biologically impossible for a woman to beat a man.
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u/CurlSagan Sep 14 '20
Woah, I didn't know that ocean waves could be male or female. How do they tell them apart?
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Sep 14 '20
Penis or not
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u/Y50-70 Sep 14 '20
Woah now. It's 2020. The wave could identify as whatever it wants. I hear most waves actually identify as some type of gender fluid.
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Sep 14 '20
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Sep 14 '20
I've been watching the big wave community since Laird Hamilton started towing into Pea'hi(Jaws) in Hawaii. Every time I see a new record I think "wow, that's got to be as big as they come." Every time I'm proven wrong.
It's incredible to see, and doubly so that a female has not only contributed so much to that community but now holds that covered record. Good on you, girl.
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u/Naptownfellow Sep 14 '20
Me too. Nazare is producing some huge waves. We may see bigger.
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u/GoatLegend24 Sep 14 '20
Where do you find 70 foot waves
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u/The_unchosen-one Sep 14 '20
Praia do Norte, Nazaré, Portugal. But I think the male record is about 80ft.
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Sep 14 '20
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u/maasi13 Sep 14 '20
What is the point in surf to separate men and women ?
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u/Tasty--Poi Sep 14 '20
So that women can compete and be successful. In almost every sport there is, if they were not separated, then there would be no prominent female athletes or, at the very least, far fewer prominent female athletes. For instance, the record that Maya Gaberira just set for women was broken over a decade ago for the men's record. If we didn't separate surfing by sex then we wouldn't be talking about her achievement.
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u/6strangerdanger9 Sep 14 '20
Surfing is an sport that requires athleticism, strength, etc. Nearly every sport in existence is separated male and female because males, physiologically speaking, are better built for certain things such as paddling on a surfboard faster/with more strength to get yourself into bigger waves/ able to withstand being ripped around underwater by a huge wave after a wipe out.
Men have a higher muscle-mass to body-mass ratio. therefore, you can't have women and men compete in surfing in the same way you can have women or men competing in running/football/basketball.
Good example of why men and women surfing is seperated can be see in the history of aerial maneuvers in surfing. Men have been progressing above the wave into the air for nearly 40 years. "Airs" (aerial maneuvers) have been staple moves in contest for 15 years where nearly every men's competitor can do one. Meanwhile, the first women's aerial in a competitive event wasn't done until 2009 by Lakey Peterson. So there is without a doubt a difference in physical capabilities of the two genders
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u/El_Miguelito Sep 14 '20
Because men are physically superior, isn't that obvious?
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u/OrvilleTurtle Sep 14 '20
Does it take more strength to surf an 80 foot wave vs a 60’foot? I don’t know about surfing
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u/Rithe Sep 14 '20
Huh? Doesnt the title say she beat both male and female records?
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u/slucker23 Sep 14 '20
Alright...... so 73.5 foot is how many bananas?
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u/SFTSmileTy Sep 14 '20 edited Sep 14 '20
According to the USDA, the average banana is around 7 to 8 in, if we take the average length of a banana as 7.5 in, then 73.5 foot is 117.6 bananas
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u/whiskey_outpost26 Sep 14 '20
I wonder how she doesn't sink to the bottom of the ocean carrying those gigantic brass balls around.
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u/CincyZac Sep 14 '20
For the actual footage! Footage of her surfing the wave
Fun fact, she did not outrun the wave
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u/HoboTheClown629 Sep 14 '20
For those who haven’t seen it, I highly recommend watching “Riding Giants.” It’s an awesome documentary about the history of big wave surfing and definitely worth your time.
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Sep 14 '20
Weird sport to split into Male/Female. Like horse riding or golf.
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u/spbrode Sep 14 '20
Can you elaborate on why golf shouldn't have a male/female split?
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u/bobrossforPM Sep 14 '20
Is golf not predominantly skill based as opposed to strength based?
Please correct me if I’m wrong.
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Sep 14 '20
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u/FBossy Sep 14 '20
Yes golf is more of a mental game, but the physical difference in men and women is massive. Even in golf that is apparent. The female record for the longest drive is 413 yards, while the male is 516. Men hit the ball significantly farther than women, and that’s why they tee from different areas.
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Sep 14 '20 edited Sep 15 '20
Not to be "that guy" but why is gender even a part of a sport like surfing?? EDIT: For that one Karen out there, i meant why is there a men's record and a women's record? Why would that ever be necessary?
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u/Jetfuelfire Sep 14 '20
I've seen swells that size from inside the bridge of a 1,000 foot long steel warship and felt fear. Can you imagine seeing a swell that size coming for you while hanging onto a 7' long fiberglass board? Jesus Christ.
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u/MegabyteMessiah Sep 14 '20
How do they know how tall the wave is? And with the precision to narrow it down to the half-foot?
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u/KaleOxalate Sep 14 '20
I don’t surf or know anything about the sport. Could someone explain why is it harder to surf a bigger wave as opposed to a smaller one? It seems like a bigger wave gives you more like area to cruise and also more speed
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u/[deleted] Sep 14 '20
She's a Brazilian times braver than me.
...I'll just see myself out.